UPDATE: A memorial service for Michael Teasley will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at Antioch Baptist Church in Pearl, Miss.
Article from The Clarion-Ledger
Michael Teasley, Jackson State University’s first white NAACP president, was found dead in his apartment Monday night, according to a state NAACP official.
Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson confirmed this morning that Teasley was found dead in his apartment.
Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart said Teasley appears to have died of natural causes.
Teasley, 40, grew up in rural Rankin County, was elected president of the JSU chapter of the NAACP in late 2010. He is the first white person to hold that position among historically black colleges and universities.
Teasley served as 2nd vice president in 2008-09 and 2009-10 before being elected by the 60-plus-member chapter last spring as president for the 2010-11 term.
Friend Garrad Lee said he had seen Teasley on JSU’s campus just a few weeks ago.
“In the short time I knew him we became fairly close, mostly through our similar roles in activisim,” Lee said. “I always looked up to him.”
One project he dedicated himself to all his life was helping sign black people up to vote.
Posts on his Facebook wall from fellow students and civil rights activists mourn his passing.